VNG bills go up 35% 7/1, electricity increase to follow

Local, Virginia 1 Minute

So I’m reading this article and see that Virginia Natural Gas will have a 35% increase effective July 1 and I’m thinking, “man, I’m glad I don’t have gas.” Oops. Right below it on the front page of PilotOnline is a link to an article about Dominion Virginia Power’s request to increase its rates 18%, and they want that to be effective July 1 as well.

Hmm – I may have to enroll in the peak pricing program after all.

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7 thoughts on “VNG bills go up 35% 7/1, electricity increase to follow”

  1. Oh, good. Just when I done paying for winter heating oil (you think *gas* is expensive . . .). I was worried that the energy sector just wouldn’t be getting enough money from me until next winter.

  3. Welcome to the national recession, Virginia. Most of us don’t realize that the Old Dominion’s had it relatively easy compared to most other states because we’ve had superior economic stewardship under Gov’s Warner and Kaine, but with energy rates going the way they are nationally and indeed globally this was bound to overtake us eventually.

    Incidentally: California has some really interesting energy policies. Residential and commercial properties that produce solar power can sell their excess juice back to the grid–and PG&E is required to buy back excess juice at the same rate they sell at. The result is that:

    1. There’s a tangible, market-driven financial incentive for home owners to install solar panels in their homes because they can make money off of the system–adding together what you’re *not* paying PG&E for electricity a year on top of what *they’re paying you,* installing solar panels will easily pay for itself in a matter of years.

    2. There’s a modest disincentive for PG&E to increase energy rates because doing so not only increases their revenue but also their outlays to producing consumers, which also increases the financial incentive for more home-owners on the fence about solar to install panels.

    3. Most important, there’s more energy available on the grid and demand is being controlled in the most populous state in the country. As you’ll recall, California had huge energy crisis about six years ago with production unable to meet demand, which lead to rising rates and rolling brown-outs around large parts of the state. Having experience this sort of crisis before the rest of us has put California ahead of the curve on energy policy.

    I wish we could get Govs Warner, Kaine and Shwarzeneger in a room together so they could come up with a bipartisan, centrist solution to pretty much all of our domestic problems.

  4. You don’t have gas? You should think about switching. Natural Gas is a more efficient means of heating your home. Natural Gas water heaters, dryers, and furnaces are all more efficient than their electric counterparts. And what is cooking without a gas range? That’s my pitch for natural gas. =)

    Not surprising though, the prices of all commodities are up. I think this is helpful even though it is painful. Prior to this, there was no incentive for people to change their consumption patterns. People are primarily concerned with price and not with conservation or energy efficiency. Now that prices are up, there is incentive to change. This has been especially true in Virginia where energy prices have been much lower than the rest of the country.

    To anonymous’s point, California’s EEC programs and building codes that promote efficiency were in place before their “energy crisis.” I use quotes because this was manufactured. Companies (Enron being the most prominent example) took advantage of California’s electric utility deregulation law to drive prices up and create supply constraints. They routed power out of state and then back in to sell it at higher prices. They called power plants and told them to shut down for “routine” maintenance. To contrast our two states, California’s electricity demand increased only 17% from 1990 to 2001, Virginia’s increased 33% in that same period.

  5. I have thought about switching – I actually had a gas line run to my house before I bought it. But believe it or not, every time I compare the costs, oil for heating and hot water (+ electricity for the other stuff) is still cheaper than gas for those things.

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